> I find it strange that people aren't more supportive of an HHS secretary that actually gives a damn about autism
Perhaps it's because he characterizes people with autism as subhuman? And his attempts to do something about it are not grounded in evidence based treatment, but instead whatever foo-foo logic he's got in his head at the time.
If you told me, someone was looking into curing, say pancreatic cancer, I'd be happy, but if the same person was saying people suffering from pancreatic cancer are not fully human, and also that the cure is <insert disproven nonscientific cure>, not only would I no longer be happy, I'd be upset. The person is wasting valuable scientific funding that _could_ be going to funding a cure, and is instead denigrating people and redirecting attention.
He didn't call them subhuman. That's just propaganda taken out of context to try to diminish him. I'm sorry that it has convinced some people that the smear is true. It's weird that on one hand, you think he thinks autistic people are subhuman, and yet he's provably the only person in government in a position of power fighting for families suffering from autism.
> The number of autistic children being diagnosed is RISING it's not falling
Over time we got better at diagnosing it, that’s all. Mildly autistic people clearly existed in the past but were just considered odd or nerdy or something and now we can better diagnose and support those people
Neither. Autism is something that is very important to me, mainly because of my friend's experience with his two autistic children and the fact my child was mistakenly diagnosed as autistic. It turns out he was suffering from generalized anxiety disorder and misdiagnosed by a couple of psychiatrists.
It's sad that you think that people with opinions other than yourself is engaging in "flagrant rage baiting."
Can you support your claim about tens of thousands of Canadian children on a waiting list for treatment? I'd love to see what kind of sources you (or your hypothetical friend) are using. Here's what the Canadian government has to say.
"Health Canada has not approved any medications for the treatment of autism."
Are you yourself confusing diagnoses for autism with diagnoses and (this time real) treatments for other conditions? That's the most charitable explanation I can think of, and it still seems a bit hypocritical. Maybe that's where the "flagrant rage bait" accusations come from.
